Romance Isn't Dead
by RandomnessOfVictoria
Summary: Felicity Smoak's day off activity of reading a Regency-period romance novel sparks an flame. Rated M for chapters to come.
1. Chapter 1

**Welcome to my very first foray into FanFiction. All Olicity. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. I just love what the team at Arrow has given me. I own this plot line and that is it.**

It was a well-known fact that she loved technology. She geeked out over computers and programming and just about everything electronic she could get her hands on. There were times, however, when she got a break where she could just calm down and not think about anything that she liked to be as unplugged as possible.

Felicity had a rare day off from Q.C. and from the night drama of the Arrow. It was early evening and she had changed into her favorite pajamas and ungracefully flopped down on her bed. She had had a pretty good day. She had slept in. Did some shopping. Picked up her dresses from the cleaners. Straightened up her barely lived in apartment. She checked in with Diggle to make sure the team didn't need her for anything. When he'd said "no" two hours earlier she was glad. She had gotten a few emails that could wait until the next morning.

So now as 6:30 pm rolled around she was ready for a good book. Starling City was uncharacteristically quiet outside of her window. Criminal activity had gone down in recent weeks so heroic activity had thankfully lowered. She sent a text to Oliver, Dig, and Roy letting them know she would be off grid until the next morning. She cut off her cell and tablet and had turned on her alarm clock that sat unused on her night stand.

The book that she decided to read was a good old paperback romance novel. It was a regency period romance. She knew the formula. A shy wallflower, somewhat on the shelf, gets into a tangle with a handsome gentleman who did not notice her existence and good times and drama of all sorts ensue. After reading several chapters and finding herself falling irrationally in love with the flawed hero of the story, Felicity drifted off to sleep with the book lying open on the bed beside her and her glasses sliding off the bridge of her nose.

* * *

Oliver was in a monstrous mood. Felicity had been off for the day. She had set up his schedule and given him all the information he had needed to know for all of his meetings several days earlier. Everything was either on his phone, tablet, or desktop. However, today technology had decided to take the day off with his EA. His phone was not receiving texts or calls correctly. He was late for meetings all morning.

Finally, when the evening rolled around he was glad to be done with his corporate life and was able to step into his alter ego and work off his stress. When he entered the secure room that housed his Arrow life at Verdant around 8 PM, Oliver found a note that Diggle had scrawled and left taped to one of Felicity's monitors. He had been privy to Oliver's technological frustrations all day, so he knew better than to send a message electronically. The note said that he and Roy had left for patrol and would be going home after.

Oliver suited and geared up and went into the night to do his rounds across Starling beginning in The Glades and moving further into the heart of Starling. After a few issues with some would-be muggers, Oliver took a break. Realizing he hadn't heard from Felicity all day, and attributing it to his problems, he pulled out his phone and dialed her number. The call went straight to voicemail. Panic flashed through Oliver. Felicity never cut her phone off.

Since involving her in his life, Oliver had taken responsibility for the blonde dynamo. It was after ten, but he knew her phone should have at least rung. To put himself at ease, Oliver decided to check on her at her apartment. He needed to stop his mind from going to nefarious places.

* * *

Felicity knew she was dreaming. She did not attend balls or dress in Regency period garb. She knew that Oliver did not wear cravats. However, this dream was amazing. He lead her across the dance floor and she looked into his beautiful eyes and whispered his name.

* * *

Oliver slipped through the window that he knew went to her apartment's bedroom. He saw Felicity asleep on top of her covers. He glasses were beside her and her phone on her nightstand. He noticed a book lying open beside her. He picked it up and realized it was a romance. He chuckled because he hadn't realized that Felicity was into those kinds of books. The page that was open was a steamy love scene. Oliver's pulse picked up at the idea of Felicity reading erotic novels. As she moved in her sleep, Oliver quickly shook his head at his reaction and decided to leave. He put the book down and started towards the window. Before he stepped out he heard her sigh his name. He froze.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks to all the readers. I have been beyond excited to see the views from all over the world. I hope you like what I have in line for this story. I love these characters. I love this show. I hope to do them all justice. I hope for your feedback. I want to keep it in line with what is sort of going on now in the show. However, the story may need characters that may be gone in the show.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. I just love what the team at Arrow has given me. I own this plot line and that is it.**

Felicity woke up the next morning with a vague memory of her dream and a smile on her lips. She could see flashes of the dream she had and it was incredible. As she lay in bed, could remember actions more so than faces and the names of the people there. She remembered dancing with and kissing a man that she liked, but his face had disappeared as soon as she opened her eyes. This happened all too often with her dreams, especially ones that were the least bit romantic. The nightmares stuck more. The months follow her kidnapping by The Count, she could see his face almost every night. Why, oh, why couldn't she remember her romantic heroes?

She picked up her glasses that were beside her on the bed beside her book. She looked over at her alarm clock that she had set the night before. She had woken up a few minutes prior to her alarm. She fumbled for her cell phone and turned it on. She had a text from an old college friend checking in. She had some new emails. She also saw a missed call from Oliver. He didn't leave a message so she would ask him about it when he got into the office that morning. Felicity ate a bowl of Froot Loops, showered, and dressed in a black and white stripped Bethany Mota dress with some black heels and her trademark ponytail. She grabbed her book off her bed and shoved it in her bag. A little light reading for any time she caught a break today or later tonight when it was Arrow time.

She arrived at her desk at a quarter until eight. Oliver would probably not be there until closer to nine. She began going through her emails she answered what she could. Made notes for Oliver. Reviewed Oliver's schedule. Felicity and Oliver had put some plans in the works months prior to get a benefit ball in order for underprivileged youth in Starling. No solid plans had been made, but she was getting bids from different locations and caterers that she had reached out to. She needed to put that back on Oliver's radar, so the plans could be made.

* * *

Oliver walked into Queen Consolidated and found Felicity sitting at her desk outside of his office. He wasn't sure if he should mention that he checked in on her or if she even knew that he had dropped in on her. She walked over to him, smiled and handed him a cup of coffee. He acknowledged his thanks with a nod and continued towards his office doors. She apparently did not know. She followed him with her tablet in her hand beginning a conversation about the previous day.

"Thanks so much for the day off yesterday Oliver. It was a nice break. How did everything go here and at the club?" Felicity rambled sweetly. When she said the word "club" there was a hint in her voice that she meant Arrow business. She knew how well Thea and the managers handled club business so she stayed out of that.

"Well," Oliver cleared his throat, "you are welcome. Everyone deserves a day off every now and then. Yesterday here was nothing short of trying. My computer, tablet, and phone decided they all wanted to have problems. I had some IT people up here working on it but they weren't as efficient as you. Felicity lit up at the small praise. My phone barely received calls and texts all day. I was late to several meeting. Oddly enough when I woke up this morning my phone and tablet seemed to be in working order."

As he spoke Felicity frowned at the idea of her beloved technology working against her. When they made it to his desk, she sat down in his chair and switched on the desktop herself and went into his account and programs that he used daily. Everything seemed to be ok. "Are you sure it wasn't user error?" She teased him. "Everything looks fine to me. Maybe they just missed me. I am like their mommy."

"I'd considered that." He quipped.

She vacated his chair and filled him in on his schedule for the day. "Oh by the way, we need to finalize plans for the upcoming charity ball. We put it on the books and calendars for a few weeks from now and we will need to get our people on it to get into place." Oliver sighed. He wanted to do this ball, but it had been so hectic lately, he let it slip his mind. He would get with the committee to get it straightened out as soon as possible. Starling needed this. Queen Consolidated needed the good publicity as well.

As Felicity exited his office she turned back around. "I saw I had a missed call from you this morning. Was it something important?"

Oliver though of the night before. Felicity asleep in her pajamas. Her hair a mess. The passage in the book she was reading. Her saying his name in her sleep. He felt his face flush and he turned to his screen. "I was just testing my phone. No big deal."

"Ok." She answered and clicked back to her desk.

* * *

The day at the office was monotonous, but Oliver had made some strides in his plans for the charity event. When he made it to Verdant that night, he found Roy sitting at Felicity's station with a book in his hand snickering as he read. Felicity came up behind him and plucked it from his hands.

"Roy Harper. Do you not understand personal space and property?" Felicity huffed. She muttered the words 'damn it' under her breath.

"Felicity, I did not know you were into romance novels." Roy countered.

Oliver saw a flush cross Felicity's cheeks and felt his pulse kicked into high gear again as he noticed that the book that Felicity had clutched to her chest was the book he found on her bed last night. Diggle was working out and had stopped to observe the scene with a smirk.

"It is none of anyone's business what I read when I am on my break and down time." Felicity shot back with a saucy lilt in her tone.

"What do you guys think?" Roy prodded Dig and Oliver.

"I agree with Felicity. Anyway, some romance books can be pretty good." Diggle said and he recommenced his work out. Roy rolled his eyes

Oliver nodded in a general agreement. He watched Felicity slide back in her chair and focus on her monitors. Roy admitted defeat and engaged Dig in a sparring match. Oliver went to the changed into workout clothes and headed to the salmon ladder. He needed to work off the memory of Felicity saying his name in her sleep and imagining that it had something to do with that book.

**I know there isn't a lot of action going on. But I am setting it up, believe me.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello! I've been wanting to finish this and get this up for several days. However, my job wipes me out. Here is a more Felicity centric chapter. Please enjoy! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. I just love what the team at Arrow has given me. I own this plot line and that is it.**

Felicity gave up on trying to read some more of her book that night. She was ill with Roy and slightly embarrassed that her male teammates knew her secret. She need more female friends. Friends that would understand her choices of books. Friends outside of the scope of Queen. She considered putting the novel back on her bookshelf at home and revisiting it later. Screw it she thought she would finish it regardless of the annoying prodding that Oliver's protégé did to her. Roy Harper idea of romance meant being involved participating in vigilante activity with his girlfriend. He wouldn't know it if cupid shot him between the eyes.

The next night at the Foundry, a Friday, Felicity convinced the guys to go home earlier than usual. She had some software and hardware updates to do and it would be easier without their hovering and noise. Roy surprisingly did not put up a fight. She smiled because she knew that he had been itching for a night to devote some time to his relationship with Thea. Maybe just maybe Thea Queen could teach him about romance.

Oliver and Diggle, on the other hand, had been much more difficult to convince to leave her to her own devices. Dig insisted he stay until she was done with all of the updates. His protective side did not want her to be at the club alone all night. She shot him a hard glare and reminded him that they were behind a guarded door that way encrypted and impossible to break through with brute force. Plus, she would be in a room with various weapons that she had rudimentary knowledge of how to use. Should anyone get through, Oliver's arrows would come in handy. After a few minutes, Dig relented sighing "Call me if you need me" and left.

Finally, all she had to do was convince Oliver to leave. He looked tired. The dark smidges under his eyes were pronounced. She had had the luxury of a break that week, whereas Oliver never got a break. If he wasn't at Queen Consolidated, he was being the Arrow, or he was dealing with other ridiculously dramatic personal issues.

"Felicity, isn't there anything else you'd rather be doing with your Friday night? Wouldn't you at least like to the night off?"

Felicity scoffed at the idea of her having any plans outside of work. She hadn't dated in forever and hanging out with her old friends was rough because she couldn't be honest. Oliver quirked his eyebrow at her. She felt her stomach flutter. It was so attractive when he did that.

"If I don't do this tonight while we are slow, I will be stuck while we are in some dire situation or another. Plus while I wait, I plan on reading my book. It is getting good."

* * *

Oliver took a quick breath, felt his face heat up. He started picturing that scene he had read. An open bodice. Ripe lips. Blonde cascading hair. He had to get out of there before she noticed. "Fine, enjoy your night," he answered gruffly, "If you need me, put up the Bat signal." She laughed, called him a smart ass and he smiled crookedly and left.

* * *

When things got quiet, Felicity started her updates and pulled out her novel. She went and lay down on the couch tucked out of sight into the corner of the Foundry. She flipped back a few pages to the start of the chapter she was in. This was the beginning of the first major romantic scene.

-Emmy sighed as the Duke of Hallstead undid her hair pins. "Xander we shouldn't. " she pressed half-heartedly. Xander ran his fingers through her blonde curls and whispered pressing a kiss to her lips, "My dear Emmy this should've happened long before now. We have put each other off as merely friends and we know there is so much more." Just as the heroine gave in, they were interrupted.-

A jolt of familiarity hit Felicity. Had she read this plot before? Or was it something else? She ignored the feeling and continued reading. Before long she heard a ping from her computers. She got up, did some work and went back to the couch and curled up and fell asleep.

"Felicity," he growled in her ear, "why do we keep denying what we want?" Felicity felt herself shiver and blush. Her ivory gown was being loosened. Her hair was falling down around her bare shoulders. His lips were on her throat. She needed to know who the man was that was doing this to her. When she opened her eyes she noticed that they were wearing clothes like the characters from her novel.

When he lifted his head, she froze. Oliver's steely eyes and crooked smile was in front of her. She started to move away, and remembered she was dreaming. "What the hell," she thought, "this is a dream."

His full name fell from her mouth and he smiled. She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply.

When she woke up to her computers calling for an update, she remembered his face and his lips. How his hands felt on her cheeks. Felicity had been dreaming about Oliver. She had liked it. Now, how could she look Oliver in the face from now on? It was hard enough with her crush. This book was messing with her. She packed up, shut down, and went home and fell into bed.

**Let me know what you think. I love what you guys have said so far!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey all! I have been wanting to get this finished for weeks and have been getting sidetracked. This is what Mr. Queen was up to, while Felicity was running updates. Please enjoy! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. I just love what the team at Arrow has given me. I own this plot line and that is it.**

After being unceremoniously ejected from the Foundry by Felicity, Oliver was keyed up. He spent some time upstairs at Verdant. He listened to music and watched as Thea went about running his, or as she liked to remind him, "her" club with amazing efficiency and authority. Roy worked at the club too and he watched as the kid slid up to his little sister and placed a kiss on her head. He felt instantly jealous that they had each other. Oliver had had his share of girlfriends and friends who were women, but lately he yearned for the kind of relationship that he didn't have to hide anything and could love openly. He had had something of that sort with each of the Lance sisters, but with each one there was some disaster or unhappy ending. He was able to retain a friendship with each, but more than that proved to have some level of toxicity. After a while, Oliver was tired of the pounding music, the bright lights, and the drunken twenty-somethings. He decided to go home.

When he got to the Queen mansion, Oliver went to the kitchen to find something to eat. The staff kept the kitchen well stocked so he had not trouble gathering the items he needed for a satisfying sandwich. He put the finished product on a small plate, cleaned up his mess, and bounded up the stairs to his room. When he looked at his phone, the time read 11:00 PM. The night was going incredibly slow and he wasn't the least bit tired. After getting back to Starling and settling into his roles of executive by day and vigilante by night, Oliver ran on little sleep. So 11was still early. He got about as much sleep now that he was home as he did on Lian Yu. There he spent his nights thinking about his past mistakes and thinking about what ifs. Now he had things to look forward to. The things he had to think about, the people he had to think about were lighter, more pure. For the past few months, his mind always was constantly follow paths the girl with the glasses that he dragged into his world at a dark time.

Felicity had always been intriguing, pretty, and a little bit awkward. A smile crossed Oliver's face as he thought about some of the verbal slips Felicity was always making. They were most often than not completely inappropriate. When she realizes the alternative meaning of the words that fall from her mouth, her brightly glossed lips form a small "o" and her cheeks would flush softly or violently based on how suggestive the comment was. He and the guys would either laugh, cough, or pretend like she didn't say anything. He had to admit that most of the Felicity's slips had an effect on him. The effect was usually potent and he had to work to ignore the rush of heat that would rush through him.

After getting to know Felicity, he had decided that it would be best not to get involved with her. It had made the fact clear in subtle actions and statements. He had several relationships in the duration of time he had known her, yet she was the only female constant that did not include an excessive amount of drama. She, Diggle, and now Roy were some of the few people that knew the real and complete Oliver Queen.

After contemplating Felicity for a while, Oliver's thoughts drifted to that night he had checked on her after her day off. The way she had said his name in her sleep. He thought about the novel she was reading. He had noticed it was the same one she was reading at the lair a few nights before. She even mentioned it tonight before he left Verdant. What was so enticing to her that she was taking her time reading it? He remembered the passage he had flipped to about the hero and heroine succumbing to a passion that had be building for some time. He needed to know what was driving Felicity and what she was dreaming about. He tried to recall the cover of the book and the title. After eating his sandwich and searching for a few minutes online he found a downloadable copy of the book and downloaded to his tablet. He vowed to himself that Roy would never find out about this, he wouldn't live it down. Diggle would give him a knowing glance and smile and so he wasn't too worried about him. After the book downloaded, he began reading the story of Lady Emmaline Erstwhile and Xander Quinn, Duke of Hallstead. He had a dark past and she an innocent and slightly boring societal existence. They had grown up together and became reacquainted at the exposition of the story. After a few chapters, the plot had thickened and Oliver oddly couldn't put the book down. He noticed his personality in the male lead and Felicity's likeness in Emmy. He tried to ignore it, but he couldn't. It made him want to read more.

The first major romantic moment was a masquerade ball and the idea struck Oliver as exciting. The idea of anonymity was extremely enticing and somewhat sexy. He pictured the scene with him dressed in a cravat and jacket wearing a domino mask to hide his features and taking a beautiful girl into his arms and sweeping her across the floor in a waltz. As he read the part where the main couple was interrupted, Oliver muttered "Typical," and put down his tablet. He was now sleepy, so he got up stripped of his clothes and slide on his pajama bottoms. When je lay down, an idea stuck him. The charity ball committee where still considering themes for the upcoming event. He pulled out his phone and sent a quick suggestion to the committee he fell asleep, he thought to himself that a masquerade ball would be just the thing. Wouldn't Felicity like that?

* * *

Oliver didn't typically dream of much besides the island. As he watched the blonde, masked girl across the room, he wanted to dance. His first instinct was to call her Emmy from the novel. He made his way to her and bowed, she took his hand and he held her close. Her recognized her scent. Recognized her eyes and lips. "Felicity, what are you doing here?" She smiled up at him.

Oliver woke with a start. What was going on? How would he be able to look at her and not remember this dream? Wanting her? Did he want to forget?

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